Musou

"Roar!"

The next second, Goliath opened its enormous mouth. Savage Magic Power gathered around its jaws, visible waves of energy condensing in the air. A white shockwave tore straight through the air and shot toward Lu Qiming's head.

"Boom!"

The massive shockwave shattered the ground, and all of the 17th Floor began to tremble.

Dual Blade Thrust.

The instant the attack ended, before Goliath could even see what had happened, a streak of white light shot out from the smoke kicked up by the shockwave and pierced through its chest.

"Ahh, roooar!"

Like a fountain, a torrent of blood sprayed from Goliath's chest. Through the enormous wound, its writhing innards were clearly visible. Overwhelmed by pain and the threat of death, Goliath roared in a frenzy.

At Goliath's roar, the monsters that had just spawned on the nearby floors all raised their heads, red light flickering in their eyes as they charged straight for the 17th Floor.

Among them, adventurers fighting monsters were startled when the creatures they were battling suddenly began roaring madly. Abandoning their opponents, they turned and ran toward the distance.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"The monsters are all heading for the 17th Floor!"

"Could it be that roar just now?"

A middle-aged adventurer suddenly realized what was happening. He looked at the monsters running toward the 17th Floor. They seemed almost crazed, as if something were calling them.

"Someone's fighting the Floor Boss!"

The middle-aged adventurer shouted in alarm. He had seen this sort of thing before, when the Freya Familia had fought a Floor Boss. The scene had been exactly the same.

"What? Someone's fighting the Floor Boss? But..."

The people beside him stared at him in disbelief. The Loki Familia, who were supposed to be preparing for an expedition, weren't ready yet. So who could be fighting the Floor Boss?

"Someone's definitely fighting the Floor Boss, and it's already gone berserk. It's summoning monsters!"

The middle-aged adventurer gave his companions a firm look, then took off after the monsters toward the 17th Floor.

"Hey, Gelu, where are you going?"

"I'm going to see who's fighting the Floor Boss!"

The middle-aged adventurer glanced back at his companions and picked up the pace toward the 17th Floor.

The others exchanged glances, then laughed and followed him. How could they miss out on witnessing something this exciting?

The same thing was happening across the 14th, 15th, and 16th Floors. An endless tide of monsters and the adventurers on those floors began converging on the 17th Floor.

"Oh, it's gone berserk?"

Standing on Goliath's back, Lu Qiming tilted his head at the roaring giant. The hole he had pierced through Goliath's chest had almost completely healed thanks to its Self-Regeneration.

But...

Lu Qiming twirled Divine Judgment in his hand, then pointed both swords at Goliath's head. It could recover from physical wounds, but what about damage to its soul?

That last attack had cut away a piece of Goliath's soul, which Divine Judgment had devoured.

Spinning Dance Slash.

The twin swords flashed up and down in Lu Qiming's hands, streaks of Sword Light flaring across Goliath's body one after another.

"Roar!"

Goliath's body stiffened. The next second, a tremendous scream echoed across the 17th Floor. All the muscle had vanished from its body. From a distance, it looked like a mass of battered organs encased in a gigantic white skeleton.

Chunks of flesh, each the size of a fist, carpeted the ground beneath its bones. Torrents of blood filled the pits in the floor, making the battlefield look like a gruesome hell of blood and flesh.

On the ground drenched in blood and gore, a black-haired boy stood facing the skeletal giant, twin swords in hand and a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

"Hahaha! What's wrong? Can't keep up? Heheh. Come on, sweetheart. Keep dancing!"

"Roar, roooar!"

A pained, frenzied roar burst from Goliath's mouth. Steam poured from its body, and the wet, sizzling sound of flesh regenerating rang out all over it. In just over ten seconds, its flesh had fully grown back.

But by then, its black hair had turned completely white. Its dark red skin had become bloodred in its fury, and its millstone-sized, crimson eyes fixed on Lu Qiming.

"Roar!"

Goliath opened its enormous mouth and fired one Magic cannon blast after another at the spot where Lu Qiming stood. The ground was obliterated, and the shockwaves sent shattered stone and dust flying.

"Roar, roar, roar, roar!"

One howl after another came from within the dust. Pair after pair of blood-red eyes stared greedily at something inside it.

As the dust cleared, monsters surrounded the entire 17th Floor like a rising tide. Facing the Floor Boss in the middle of the horde, Lu Qiming's lips curled into a wide grin. A visible mist of blood enveloped him.

"Calling for backup, huh?"

Divine Judgment began to tremble in Lu Qiming's hand. The runes on its blade lit up, and the sword's roar rang out incessantly.

"Alright, alright. Easy. With this many, we'll have plenty to kill."

Feeling Divine Judgment's bloodlust, Lu Qiming gently rubbed a finger along its hilt, calming it for the moment. Then he looked toward the entrance to the 17th Floor, where a large crowd of adventurers had gathered.

Among them, two little girls were hopping around on their short legs, shouting at him.

"Berserker, sir!"

"Good luck, sir!"

"..."

Lu Qiming stared at the two little girls who kept calling him the wrong thing, his face darkening. If they weren't so cute, and dressed so lightly, he'd really like to give them a... No, a slash!

"I told you, I'm an Assassin!"

Lu Qiming yelled at the two girls, then paid no further attention to them.

"Come on, let's dance!"

He held Divine Judgment upright in front of his chest. Magic Power, deep as the Abyss, surged around him and shot straight into the sky.

"Musou!"

A whisper like that of the Grim Reaper came from Lu Qiming's lips. A terrifying pressure crushed the nearby monsters into heaps of flesh, and boundless power flooded his body.

At that moment, the numbers on Lu Qiming's Panel began climbing rapidly.

Name: Lu Qiming

Age: 16

Spirit: 83

Strength: 83

Agility: 108

Constitution: 83

With such terrifying stats, Lu Qiming's body seemed to be filled with endless power. His short black hair fluttered in the Magic Power spilling from him, and his bloodlust soared.

The countless monsters on the 17th Floor seemed to sense the change in Lu Qiming. Even in their berserk state, they began to roar and tremble.

"Roar!"

Goliath let out an angry roar, raised both hands high, and smashed them down like a meteorite.

"Dance! Let's become one!"

Lu Qiming tilted his head slightly and lightly swept Divine Judgment upward. A massive blade of light shot from its edge.